One of my favorite lines from the movie, “You’ve Got Mail” by Nora Ephron was sent in an email by the character Joe Fox played by Tom Hanks to Kathleen Kelly performed by actress Meg Ryan. If you’re not familiar with the 1998 movie, the pair met in a chatroom and fell in love via the Internet. Joe wrote to Kathleen, “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” If anyone should ever tell you that there is no power in the written word, they’ve never been touched by a song, prose, a moving eulogy, rousing political speech, sermon, book or newspaper column. If you’ve ever received a love note, then you know the thrill that writing can bring to a lovesick heart.

I never thought that I would ever be a writer. It wasn’t even on my radar. I was always interested in creating art, particularly painting or drawing. When I think about it now, I remember that my high school sociology teacher would give us writing assignments to express our opinions or thoughts on a topic of his choosing. We were to write from our perspective. I recall that I enjoyed those assignments. I wrote in a similar style to my newspaper column today. After I became a teacher, I would go on to write a book that would be used by educators. Academic writing is a different animal than writing for a newspaper or other types of writing. And of course, as a teacher, I taught writing and worked with words every day with students. And now, well, I’m a newspaper editor. If it weren’t for some very good teachers, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experience the careers that I have had.

Nothing marks the beginning of a new school year more than watching the school supplies roll out. A couple of weeks ago in Walmart I watched as five employees busily unboxed supplies and placed them in the middle aisle for parents and teachers to purchase. Stacks of freshly printed notebooks with pristine pages waiting for pens and pencils to mark them. Brightly colored markers, bottles of glue and glue sticks, rulers, scissors and compasses resting on the shelves to be used by students in future assignments. There’s something about opening a fresh box of crayons and inhaling their waxy scent that just inspires creativity.

Those rows and shelves of school supplies signify the hope of the new school year and the potential learning opportunities that await them. It’s a fresh beginning when school starts with new clothes, shoes, socks and underwear, the aforementioned school supplies, perhaps a lunch box, haircuts and spiffy makeovers. When I was young, girls had to wear dresses to school. My mom would purchase three dresses for $10 from Sears back then. When winter weather arrived, we could wear pants under our dresses. Since my sister and I walked to school, (uphill both ways) we were happy to have our legs covered when icy winds blew. If there was snow on the ground, we would wear white rubber snow boots that were nearly impossible to pull off our shoes.

When I was a teacher, I would begin the first day of school with an open talk with my students and I would encourage them to take advantage of the fresh start of a new school year. I would explain to them that no matter their grades or behavior from previous years this was a time when they could start fresh. That their relationship with me was a clean slate, a new beginning. I would let them know that a good relationship is based on mutual respect. You’d be amazed at the children who had previously had behavior problems that took me up on the fresh start and honest conversation. I was proud of and for them. Isn’t that the way with all of us? Mutual respect and honest dialogue are all it takes most of the time to build great relationships.

After the first couple weeks of getting back into the groove of the school schedule and resetting sleep patterns from the lazy days of summer is exhausting to say the least and mentally draining. It will take the best teachers to keep the momentum of the school year going.

There are a lot of jobs that are stressful in this world, but being an educator is demanding and not in an ordinary 8-hour a day mode, but in a nearly 24-hour a day basis because teachers’ hours last long past the final school bell of the day and often into weekends where grading is involved. Plus, teachers who care about their students don’t stop worrying about them at the end of the school day.

Reasons for their stress are due in part to the fact that they are responsible for planning, writing and implementing lesson plans. They are also accountable for ensuring that the subject matter is indeed learned. And on top of that there is behavior management, recess, bus and lunchroom duties, professional development, and interpersonal skills to implement with parents, colleagues and administrators. There’s a lot involved in teaching that makes it mentally taxing for educators. Researchers Hilda Borko and Richard Shavelson have cited studies that determine that teachers make over 1,500 decisions each day.

Then there’s the barrage of people from parents, administrators to legislators who critique teachers, who are simply trying to do their jobs and care for their students in the best ways they are educated to do. It’s a strange thing that the very people who have various college degrees and certainly experts in their field, are at the mercy of those who know diddly squat about Maslow’s Hierarchy, much less developmentally appropriate lessons or activities.

Teachers deserve much more respect than they receive. Exemplary teachers have a way of inspiring us to become different people. Teaching is more complex than simply distributing knowledge. Insightful educators know this to be true. And every learner, no matter their age, deserves to connect with a teacher who can see their potential.

As the school year proceeds, let’s extend a little grace to our teachers. They are underpaid and often underappreciated despite their important function in society. Their influence casts a wide net. Students will remember them for many years and the impact they had on their lives. And after all, our teachers are the guardians of education and learning. The best ones leave a legacy for generations to come. Those teachers deserve a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.

Pam Lowe is the editor of the Clay County Courier. Readers may contact her at plowe@cherryroad.com